The scenery of Jiangzuo in May was picturesque, with Jiankang remaining as prosperous as ever, still the most elegant and noble place under heaven. The northern banks of the Qinhuai River had always been where the royal relatives and nobility of Great Liang gathered, and in recent years, a majestic mansion had been added – originally the separate residence of General Han Shouye, the current dynasty’s foremost military officer. On this precious land where every inch was worth gold on the northern banks of the Qinhuai River, he had carved out about one ward’s worth of land to build a new residence. The plaque reading “General’s Mansion” was inscribed by His Majesty’s own imperial brush, truly magnificent and imposing indeed.

This wasn’t without reason for the General’s lavish display – a person’s grandeur should match the extent of their power, otherwise the two would be mismatched. After the Qi family’s decline, the Han family had become the true foremost noble house, and General Han, holding command over three hundred thousand troops, was the cream of the Han family crop. His prestige even surpassed that of their clan’s lord, and even the Son of Heaven had to treat him with three parts courtesy – surely such a figure deserved to build a luxurious new mansion to reside in?

On this day, the General’s Mansion received a guest – none other than the Han family’s lord, Han Shousong.

He was led by servants through the spacious new courtyard into the main hall. After taking his seat, he waited for a long time without seeing his elder brother Han Shouye come to meet him. Only his nephew Han Feijue arrived at the hall first to converse with him.

Han Feijue was Han Shouye’s third son, just twenty-two years old this year. Because he had been weak and sickly since childhood and couldn’t follow his father to military camps for training, he had been studying continuously, determined to pass the imperial examinations for official rank. He originally had two elder brothers above him – his second brother Han Feimo had died young from illness, while his eldest brother Han Feicong was now thirty-seven and already a military officer, the son most valued by his father. He spent most of his time at military camps and was rarely at the mansion.

Han Feijue came to the hall to pay respects to his uncle. Han Shousong shared a cup of tea with him and exchanged a few words.

He first inquired about his nephew’s health, then asked about his recent studies.

“Thank you for your concern, Uncle,” Han Feijue replied. “My health has always been like this – constantly falling ill with various ailments, big and small. I’ve long grown accustomed to it.”

Indeed, he had a sickly appearance, looking listless with dull eyes and so thin he appeared somewhat hunched.

“As for my studies,” he said with a bitter smile, “I’m not like Zhongheng with his exceptional natural talent. I’ll need to toil hard for several more years.”

Hearing him speak this way, Han Shousong naturally offered a few polite words of encouragement, while taking the opportunity to criticize his own second son: “Don’t mention him – that rebellious son has done far more ridiculous things than proper ones. He even dared to turn in a blank paper at the provincial examination! How could such a person possibly become the top scholar? Speaking of it would be the greatest joke under heaven!”

Though Han Shousong spoke with such righteous indignation, in his heart he was actually quite proud of his second son – to be the top scholar, a model for all scholars under heaven, was not something that could be easily emulated. Though his second son had been wild in his youth, he truly had outstanding talent and was now very satisfying indeed.

Only one thing… he was getting far too close to that Qi Er…

Han Feijue’s days were not so pleasant. Han Shousong knew that his elder brother was essentially a military man who had never loved studying in his youth, and now that he held high position, he looked down on civil officials even more, always harboring considerable disdain for scholarly pursuits in his heart. He only valued his eldest son, while showing consistent coldness toward his weak third son, harboring no hope for his future prospects.

It was truly rather pitiful.

Han Shousong patted his nephew’s thin shoulder, sighing inwardly, then changed the subject to ask where his father was.

Han Feijue replied: “Father is in the back garden accompanying Li’er… playing pitch-pot.”

Li’er.

This was the child Han Shouye had gained a few years ago.

When the Qi family had newly fallen and the Han family risen, Han Shouye held great power and was naturally courted by everyone. He had always been lustful, so many scheming minor officials began placing women in his bed. Among them, a woman named Yan Hui was especially beautiful and captivating, winning his favor. Even after their liaison, she remained unforgettable in his heart, so he eventually married her into the household and elevated her to the rank of secondary wife.

This secondary wife was also fortunate – within just one year of entering the household, she became pregnant and bore a son. Han Shouye was extremely delighted to have a son in his old age and doted on this youngest child beyond measure. Now that the child was four years old, whenever Han Shouye had no official business, he would personally teach and raise this child, while also frequently being intimate with the boy’s mother.

Han Shousong had come calling today precisely to keep an appointment with his elder brother, yet Han Shouye had summoned him here only to go play pitch-pot with his secondary wife and son – wasn’t this absurd? Han Shousong felt somewhat angry for the moment, but restrained himself from showing it. After a few words of farewell to his nephew, he rose himself and headed toward the back garden of the General’s Mansion.

Noble mansions, though they might be built with equal exquisite luxury in their architecture, could still be distinguished in quality when their details were examined closely.

Take this General’s Mansion, for instance – though it was brand new and imposing, the trees planted within were all still young, unable to compare with established noble family compounds where even the courtyard trees had history. If there hadn’t been catastrophes like the Southern Migration, their courtyards would have century-old ancient trees, naturally able to demonstrate their heritage through such invisible means.

Unlike trees, flowers required no such considerations, needing only to be gorgeous and beautiful. The flowers in the General’s Mansion’s back garden bloomed very ostentatiously, with especially many peonies planted, reportedly Lady Yan’s particular favorite. Because the General doted on her, he had planted many such flowers in the back garden.

At this moment, Han Shouye was accompanying his youngest son in playing pitch-pot among the peony flowers, while his beautiful Lady Yan sat beside a stone table with a smile wreathing her face – truly a wonderful picture of harmonious domestic bliss.

“Li’er, aim carefully and throw with force!”

Han Shouye was half-crouched behind his youngest son. Four-year-old Li’er was as sturdy as a little calf, his chubby little hands gripping the long arrow tightly, his grape-like big eyes seriously focused on the small pot opening not far ahead. Then he threw with all his might, and the arrow flew forward. Seeing the trajectory looked promising and thinking this throw might hit the mark, Han Shouye’s gaze couldn’t help but follow the arrow intently. Unfortunately, it still flew past the pot opening, missing by just a little bit.

Li’er was very disappointed and stamped his feet angrily. Seeing this, Han Shouye laughed heartily and was about to comfort the child when he heard a cough behind him. Turning around, he saw his younger brother standing behind him with an unpleasant expression.

His beautiful concubine Lady Yan was quite sensible – seeing this scene, she picked up Li’er and said she would withdraw first. Li’er, being a child who was playing enthusiastically, naturally wouldn’t want to leave and inevitably threw a tantrum. Han Shouye wanted to comfort him, but Han Shousong had already approached. Lady Yan curtsied to him, then forcibly led the child away. Li’er was very indignant, and his full-throated crying could still be heard from quite a distance.

Han Shouye, having gained his youngest son in his fifties, naturally loved Li’er to his very bones. Seeing the child cry inevitably pained his heart, and his temper was about to be vented on his younger brother. His expression darkened as he said: “Didn’t I say I would come to the main hall to see you in a moment? You couldn’t wait even a brief while and had to make things difficult for the child?”

…These words were rather excessive.

Han Shouye’s official position at court was indeed higher than Han Shousong’s, but within the family hierarchy, he should respectfully address Han Shousong as “Lord.” The rules of Jiangzuo noble families had always been thus – the clan lord was not determined by age, and everyone within the family honored the lord as supreme. Even clan elders had to treat the lord with proper ceremony.

Han Shouye’s words and behavior just now had undoubtedly overstepped bounds.

Such transgressions weren’t actually anything new. In recent years, as Han Shouye’s power and influence grew with his students and followers spread far and wide, he had increasingly broken free from family control. Because he held power, many family members had developed dependency on him, especially his eldest son Han Feicong, who acted as arrogantly as his father and loved to take charge of others’ affairs, gaining considerable popularity among his generation. This made Han Shouye’s branch seem to exceed family regulations.

Though Han Shousong had always been mild-tempered and tolerant by nature, facing such arrogant behavior from Han Shouye, he couldn’t help feeling displeased. His expression also darkened as he said: “If elder brother has no important matters, he can spend all his days playing with his wife and children in the future, without needing to invite others to the mansion to disturb him. This would also avoid wasting others’ time – wouldn’t that be just perfect?”

This retort was quite forceful, making Han Shouye even angrier.

In recent years, he had become increasingly unable to tolerate any slight. All the court officials who saw him would invariably fawn and flatter him obsequiously – who would dare say a word that displeased him? Even Qi Jingchen, who once dominated everything single-handedly, now treated him courteously. Only this younger brother of his still couldn’t grasp the situation clearly. Did he think being clan lord was so remarkable that he had the right to order him about imperiously?

Hmph!

Han Shouye had been unscholarly in his youth, so even though he was born the eldest legitimate son of the family, he had still missed the opportunity to become lord, and the position had gone cheaply to his younger brother Han Shousong. He had once been dejected and resentful about this. Later, it was his mother who pitied him and couldn’t bear to see him sulking daily, so she persuaded his father to secure him a military position and promoted him extensively along the way, which led to his eventual rise to the position of General.

His feelings toward this younger brother were quite complex: first, he indeed knew he wasn’t cut out to be clan lord and was far inferior to his brother’s diligence and tolerance; second, he still harbored resentment that his brother had once taken something that belonged to him, leaving him frustrated and unsuccessful for many years.

Now things were different – he, Han Shouye, had made his comeback and become the pillar of the family. He was determined to show everyone his current achievements and to overshadow Han Shousong in every way. At this moment, he naturally wouldn’t show weakness. Hearing these words, he immediately gave a cold laugh and said: “No important matters? Zhongheng still hasn’t returned to Jiankang – isn’t your son’s affair an important matter?”

Upon hearing this, Han Shousong’s expression immediately changed.

Zhongheng…

Yes, he… still hadn’t returned.

The great war between north and south had ended in February this year, and shortly after, the two nations negotiated, deciding on a marriage alliance to establish cordial relations.

Such escort duties for a marriage party should never have fallen to Zhongheng under normal circumstances, but that Qi Er had taken on the role of envoy, and Zhongheng had always been close to him. So he volunteered before His Majesty, and no amount of persuasion could dissuade him – he was determined to accompany them.

When the Qi family was in power, this might have been acceptable, but now that Qi Jingchen was the target of universal condemnation – though he appeared to be honored and glorified beyond measure, what was the reality? He had already become His Majesty’s hunting dog for fighting against the noble families. Wherever he went was a quagmire, a fire pit. What good could come from associating closely with him?

But Zhongheng simply wouldn’t listen.

Now look what had happened – a shocking mountain fire had broken out during Northern Wei’s Buddha Bathing Festival. That Qi Jingchen was reportedly burned to death in that great fire, and even the Wei Emperor had nearly been affected. This news had long since spread back to Jiangzuo, causing turmoil throughout the realm. Han Shousong had also heard that the Qi family was in complete chaos. Qi Jingchen had been their last hope – if even he was dead, how would that large household with hundreds of people, high and low, manage to survive?

Speaking of the Northern Wei side again.

Now that Qi Jingchen was dead, the marriage between the Wei Emperor and the Princess had also been delayed for half a month. The wedding ceremony had finally been completed just a few days ago, and the escort delegation could finally return. But Zhongheng was stubborn, insisting he had to find Qi Er’s remains before leaving Shangjing, thus repeatedly delaying his return.

Ridiculous! That great fire had burned down half the mountain – Qi Jingchen’s remains had probably long since turned to ash. Where could they possibly be found? It was absolutely impossible to locate them!

Han Shousong had recently sent countless letters urging his troublesome son’s return, but they had all seemingly fallen into a bottomless pit. This truly made the father frantic with worry – the killing trap that had ensnared Qi Er had its roots right here in Jiangzuo, right in the Han family. The deeper Zhongheng was involved, the greater the danger he faced. He had to return, return quickly.

Seeing his brother no longer retort and looking as if someone had seized his lifeline, Han Shouye immediately felt satisfied.

He leisurely sat down beside the stone table, where there happened to be cool tea that Lady Yan had prepared and cooled earlier. He took a cup and drained it in one gulp, then set the cup down and said to Han Shousong: “Zhongheng has always been close to that Qi Er – who knows what kind of enchantment he’s been put under. Instead of helping his own family brother, he goes fawning around others.”

Author’s Note: Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve, so I’m wishing everyone a Happy New Year in advance~ In the new year, may you all have good health, eat lots without gaining weight, and suddenly become rich!

[As long as I’m sweet enough with my words, I can be forgiven for taking leave tomorrow and the day after, right? (tentatively) New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day probably won’t give me much chance to touch the computer… Bowing in apology to all the angels, hmm]